A Moʻolelo for ʻUmi: A Famous Aliʻi of These Hawaiian Islands.

"When the first of them arrived in front of Hakau, the last of them was still on top of the pali. There were so many of them, the last of them could not be seen. They surrounded Hakau completely, as he sat in the center, until they were standing around him, twelve lines deep, with the stones they carried wrapped in ti leaves like paʻi ʻai." Illustration by Haley Kailiehu, 2015.

Dear companions of this land of the long corner, from one boundary at Kaʻula to the other at Honokeʻā, from the “piko o Wākea” fixed above to the sheer pali of Papa fixed below, great aloha to you all. Here we are continuing on the pathways of our ancestors as we retell this moʻolelo of the famous aliʻi of our beloved ʻāina of Hāmākua. In this section of this famous moʻolelo, we will come to learn of one of the most important lessons of our ancestors in relation to the characteristics of a good chief. According to the traditions of old, “I aliʻi nō ke aliʻi i ke kanaka (A chief is a chief because of the people).” The ʻāina creates the foundation upon which the people are born, and the people create the foundation upon which a chief is born. That is how all the ʻāina of Hawaiʻi came under the control of ʻUmi-a-Liloa. It was the people of Hāmākua who ended the reign of the wicked chief, Hakau, and it was they too who created the foundation for the reign of the pono chief, ʻUmi. Therefore, oh reading companions of the steep trails, let us continue on with this moʻolelo of the famous aliʻi of this ʻāina of the tall cliffs, Hāmākua.

Chapter V.It was the day of Kāne, a day kapu to the akua of Hakau. And there [above Waipiʻo, ʻUmi and his people] engaged in the task of wrapping stones in ti leaves, two stones per person, wrapped up like bundles of paʻi ʻai [hard pounded kalo]. There were no people who were to go forth without stones, except for the aliʻi, ʻUmi; Kaleiokū, the kahuna; Kōī and Piʻimaiwaʻa, the adopted sons; and ʻŌmaʻokāmau, the makuakāne [elder male relative of parent’s generation]. When ʻUmi had first gone to see Līloa, his father, it was said that ʻŌmaʻokāmau became an adopted son of ʻUmi, but that is not correct (he was actually a makuakāne kahu [guardian]).They rested there until morning on the day of Lono, the day on which the akua of Hakau would be readorned in feathers. All of the people went into the uplands, and when they had all reached the kuahiwi, the chief, Hakau, said to the old men, “This is the only time during my reign as aliʻi that my akua has been readorned by feathers and I have stayed back.” And the old men responded to Hakau, “It is pono. If your younger brother would have brought war to you first, then you would have ascended the uplands with your people. But no, you are to bring war to him. Even if mistakes are made by them, your people are many, and he will be killed. He will not escape you.” This pleased the thoughts of the aliʻi, and so only the four of them remained: Hakau, Nunu, Kamai [perhaps Kakohe], and the ʻāʻīpuʻupuʻu [attendant] of the aliʻi. When the sun began to warm the day, at about 7 o’clock perhaps, ʻUmi was descending the pali of Waipiʻo with his people, and when the first of them arrived below at the stream, the last of them had not left the top yet. Hakau [saw this] and said to the old men, “This is a day reserved for readorning the akua with feathers, and yet there are people walking about on this day!” The old men then responded, “Those are your people of Hāmākua bringing food for you.” And as the people approached, Hakau noticed a group of five walking towards him without carrying sticks. They were ʻUmi, Kōī, Kaleiokū, Piʻimaiwaʻa, and ʻŌmaʻokāmau. And the aliʻi exclaimed, “There are five people coming towards us without carrying sticks.” So the old men responded, “Those, perhaps, are your hoaʻāina [land tenants].” Hakau then caught an obscure glance of ʻŌmaʻokāmau, and he asked of the old men, “Where have I seen that man in the front coming towards us?” And the old men responded, “That must be one of your hoaʻāina. You are a chief that travels often through Hāmākua, so you must have seen him before.” The aliʻi nodded in agreement, “Yes.” And the aliʻi of ʻŌmaʻokāmau saw that Hakau did not recognize them. They had been forgotten by his eyes.When the first of them arrived in front of Hakau, the last of them was still on top of the pali. [There were so many of them], the last of them could not be seen. They surrounded Hakau completely, as he sat in the center, until they were standing around him, twelve lines deep, with the stones they carried wrapped in ti leaves like paʻi ʻai. ʻUmi then walked forth and stood in the middle. Hakau saw that it was ʻUmi, and knowing that death was upon him, Hakau lowered his head. ʻUmi then called to ʻŌmaʻokāmau, and he came and stood behind ʻUmi. ʻUmi gave the order to kill Hakau, and so ʻŌmaʻokāmau walked forth, grabbed Hakau’s chin, and yanked it upwards. ʻŌmaʻokāmau then said, “You are killed by ʻŌmaʻokāmau, by ʻUmi.” Then the stones they had carried were thrown on to the body of Hakau until they stood firmly in a large mound. The carrying sticks of Hakau’s people who had ascended into the uplands were then placed on top to make the pūʻoʻa [a cone-shaped structure made for the dead] of Hakau, and the structure stood like a heiau. Hakau had been killed, and it was Kaleiokū who administered the hoʻomāhanahana [a relaxing of the kapu]. It was then that Kaleiokū became the kahuna nui of ʻUmi, as his previous prediction had come to full fruition: Hawaiʻi was now under their control.

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About the story...

"He Moolelo no Umi" is one of the earliest known published versions of the story of ʻUmi-a-Liloa, the great chief of Hāmākua, Hawaiʻi. The version of this story that is republished and translated here was first published by Simeon Keliikaapuni and J. H. Z. Kalunaaina in 1862, in the Hawaiian language newspaper called Ka Nupepa Kuokoa. After Keliikaapuni & Kalunaaina published "He Moolelo no Umi," similar versions of this important moʻolelo were published and republished in newspapers by a number of others throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Our kūpuna clearly valued this moʻolelo and the lessons it imbued upon each generation who learned it. We, in the same spirit that inspired our kūpuna to retell this moʻolelo, represent it here, in both its original language and in english, so that our generation and the many generations to come may derive knowledge from the important lessons held within this moʻolelo. And so that we, kamaʻāina of Hāmākua, may find pride in the deep cultural heritage and history of our beloved homelands, the birthplace of this great chief, ʻUmi-a-Līloa.

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